Saddle Fit & Pulled Wool Pads

It's time to talk about the most important aspect of pulled wool saddle pad making: saddle fit.

I can see your worried expressions now. If you had a tail, it'd start twisting. Saddle fit. Isn't that the time where the pitchforks come out? Some well intentioned person posts their rig up for discussion, and the comment section becomes a bonfire of criticism and poorly worded explanation for why YOUR saddle fits like a pair of size zero jeans on a woman north of thirty.

We don’t do that here. I follow those groups, and I see nothing being achieved through shame and harsh words. People want HELP when their saddles aren't fitting right, not condemnation.

If you are using pulled wool pads, you need to be concerned about saddle fit. Why? Because of the way a PWP is made, on a flexible, canvas grid, with wool roving that will felt down and form fit over time, they are uniquely good at exposing poor saddle fit. They are not a static piece of heavy felt that can shim the problem areas, or protect a horse from pinching or excessive movement.

Example: I just had a very well intentioned person reach out to me and say "I LOVE those saddle pads. I have an old sway backed horse who needs one!" And what did I say?

"Thank you so much for reaching out. I've got an old sway back too! I don't recommend using a pulled wool pad with them sadly--because a PWP felts down and forms fit over time, they won't fill in that sway, letting a saddle fit levelly."

PWPs are for horses with healthy backs and normal conformation—they are not a solution for bad saddle fit or poor conformation.

I’ll end with this: when using and selling PWPs remember that for someone swapping out their regular ol felt pad for a PWP, they may encounter issues. Why? That thick felt pad obscured bad saddle fit.

They won’t blame the old pad, or their saddle. They will blame the pulled wool saddle pad because the human mind will say “It’s that new thing that’s the problem! I never had a problem before I swapped pads. These pulled wool saddle pads must be a gimmick!”

Then the human will slap that big old felt pad back on the horse, with the too wide or too narrow saddle and keep goin’ on about their day.

For more information about saddle fit and why it matters, check out my PDF guide that has a complete section on this topic. Thanks for reading!

Sincerely,

Sabrina Squires

Sleepy Creek Tack